Any non-internet energy supplier recommendations?

[DownsNDirty]

Help! My mum is coming over tomorrow for me to help her sort out an energy supplier. I've tried to help her to help herself but she's come back saying my suggestions only allow online accounts.

She has no internet access (and won't sort it out) so needs one that she can phone and get paper bills. I don't seem to be able to filter for this when using uswitch, paperless is apparently not the same as 'offline'.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated as I can feel my blood pressure rising already. She's only 65 too!

Hi there
Bit confused by this
Presume your mum is looking for a cheaper tariff.

Has she called the suppliers you suggested and they've not given her any communication options apart from online?

My mum doesn't do anything online but she can use the big suppliers, who are used to people who don't do online. Is it possible the ones she tried are insisting on online billing etc? In which case, she probably has to stick with the big companies even if they are a bit more expensive. British Gas and EDF are fine for customers who won't go online.

Sorry it's not clear. She's moved and her tariff is very high so wants a cheaper deal however when I research online there are so many companies but it isn't clear which ones can offer non internet services. She currently British Gas and SSE.

I was just hoping someone would say x company offers this and doesn't have extortionate rates.

Looks like I'll have to trawl all the websites. Just wish I had a capable parent. She's still using the phone account of the previous owners and paying them so doesn't even have a phone number yet. I've got too much of my own stuff to deal with without hers as well!

Sounds like it would be fairer for her to call the major suppliers and ask for unit costs. Or just carry on with the suppliers already in place - certainly the easiest option. Is the tariff high because of the system in use in the house, that won't change then.

Sorry she's bugging you. Does she always want help for this type of thing?

Try googling: electricity gas "paper billing" - that seems to give quite a few, starting with M&S energy, PfP, first utility. But I suspect paper billing will go hand-in-hand with "send you a bill and you pay it in full" rather than DD - you'd need to check that too.

Thanks, I had Googled and tried age concern, MSE etc but couldn't find any conclusive answers.

Anyway it's all sorted now with Bristol Energy who have great customer service and have done it all over the phone with mum's consent. So DD set up but offline for everything going forward. 2 years fixed so I don't have to go through this again any time soon!

Worth noting for others they have a priority service register for those of pensionable age. My mum can't hear well so they have added her to this register so a) they can 'make adjustments' should they need to phone her and b) she will be a priority should there be a major power/gas issue.

Glad it's sorted but bloody hell she's only in her 60s. I hope I won't be so stubborn and burdensome when I'm older. Refuses all technology including a mobile and won't learn. Very selfish behaviour. I'm off for and now

...and so it begins....

She is not going to do stuff for herself if you will do it for her. So you have two options: leave her to struggle and learn the hard way, or accept you’re going to be her PA for the rest of her life and make sure everything is set up for your convenience so you can run her life from the comfort of your own PC.

I hope I won't be so stubborn and burdensome when I'm older. it's very difficult to change to new ways of doing things when the way you are doing it works well for you. There just doesn't seem any point. And then when you need to make the change, everything's moved on so far that it's hard to catch up. I still haven't made the move to on-line banking and using phone apps to pay for parking, taxis etc. It now seems quite scary.

I came on here because I thought your mum was old.
She's only 65!

make sure everything is set up for your convenience so you can run her life from the comfort of your own PC
This is a good tip.

I'm very nearly your mum's age and I help my 85 year old mother with her utility bills etc.
Mum only has an iPad but it gives her enough internet access for what she wants.
I did spend quite a lot of time teaching her how to use it but it was worth the effort and she loves it now. Skypes her sister, emails friends and orders rubbish from Amazon

I found Octopus energy to be really good. They allow me to speak to them, copy me in to her e mails and bills the meter reading process is very user friendly.

I also have access to her online banking which is very useful and can often save a trip to the bank (which would entail a round trip of about 3 hours).

It does feel like a slippery slope. Her nearing 90s mother is looking at getting an iPad and loves tech so it's very frustrating.

She has recently sold up and moved closer and I made sure I had zero input so she can survive! It will be minimal admin help from now on.

Might discuss power of attorney as I'm an only child and she is single. At least she is healthy if rather dead. Urgh, we aren't even close

Erm deaf not dead

has her mum tried encouraging her with tech a bit? I think at 65 I'd want to learn.

did she deliberately move closer to you so you would help with stuff?

She doesn't want to learn, I have tried. She's very stubborn. I've been referred for an ASD assesment and I feel my mum is autistic too so probably flogging a dead horse trying to get her to do anything other than her own way.

She moved to be more on hand for her mother who also lives locally, so definitely no expectation to rely on me day to day thank goodness. She has looked after our two children about once a month since the move so that's feeding my feeling of obligation. It has been extremely helpful after years of minimal family support but I am trying to keep 'repayment' confined to cat sitting for her.

It's been good to air my feelings, I'm a regular reader of this board and acknowledge this is a drop in the ocean compared to many of the experiences on here. I'm very mindful of the potential long haul, especially with my grandmother going downhill and her future demand of me. Plus autistic children.